eHomemakers Malaysia

We have come to the end of this series of articles on ‘I Need to Tell My Story’. You now have all the tools that you need to tell a story. You know what you need to do before you write the first word. You understand the difference between a biography, an autobiography, a memoir and fiction. You are aware of how to plan your story so that it flows from start to end and has all the elements in place to make it fantastic. I have no doubt that you’re all set to go. There is, however, one last part of the writing process I would like to share. It is a set of rules I learnt from an essay called ‘Politics and the English Language’ by George Orwell. I have summarised some of the most important points in his essay. Orwell starts with: ‘[Words like democracy] are often used in a consciously dishonest way. That is, the person who uses them has his own private definition, but allows his hearer to think he means something quite different. Statements like … The Soviet press is the freest in the wo...

If you’ve ever bought/planned to buy a property, there’s no doubt you would have heard the term ‘Location. Location. Location.’ The idea is that when you buy real estate, especially for investment purposes, you should give importance to the location of the property to maximise your returns. You should use the same logic when writing your story. “But Aneeta, my story took place in a room. There’s nothing special about it,” Sara said when we were discussing the setting of her story. Here’s the thing: the actual location of your story doesn’t matter. It’s how you ‘transport’ your reader to such an unusual location that matters. If you can set your story against a thrilling, unfamiliar or exotic backdrop, you will certainly excite the reader’s imagination and enhance the quality of your story. The following is an explanation of how to find a suitable setting for your story and suitable examples. Finding a suitable setting Your aim should be to create a setting that reflects the mood...

When political figures write memoirs, it’s often a study about the politics of the past. For instance, Tun Dr. Mahathir’s ‘Doctor in the House’ chronicles his life in politics and mentions his past struggles and successes. Andy Marino’s ‘Narendra Modi: A Political Biography’ is a story about a man before he became one of India’s most powerful and controversial leaders. The common element in both their books is that stimulated the emotions of their readers. This is what you should aim for when writing your story. When someone reads your story, they must finish the book and say, “I felt like the writer got under my skin. It’s as though he was writing my story.” When this happens, you will know that you’ve created the right atmosphere in your story. The way in which you can create the right atmosphere include using the five senses, describing images, and creating the right mood. The five senses  To create the correct atmosphere, use the five senses of touch, sight, taste, sound, ...

When I first started writing, I read numerous books. There was one autobiography that I’ve never been able to appreciate. It’s of a local tycoon and I can barely remember his story. Nothing captured my interest from the dialogue and setting to the people he encountered. I tried to analyse the ways in which I would make the story better if I were to rewrite it. And I accepted that to make his story truly stand out, the very least I would do is add a few elements such as conflict, jeopardy, and tension. The element of conflict  Conflict in a story refers to anything that acts as an obstacle to achieving his aim. When you assess your story, consider if the events are running too smoothly and whether the protagonist you are being opposed or tested. There is not a single person whose life’s journey is without some sort of problem. Similarly, in yours, there must have been a fight somewhere, an accident and theft or something that disturbs the narrative. Clearly, not all conflict ha...

“I can remember the gist of my conversations with Shekar. But not every word,” said Sara. This is a common comment I hear from those who write biographies. They have a need to provide documents and tapes of conversations before anyone believes their story. “It’s evidence,” Sara says. True, but it’s not always necessary. There are ways of getting around this. Let’s look at my article ‘Umbrella of Faith’ which was published in the New Straits Times (https://www.nst.com.my/news/2015/10/umbrella-faith). My story was a profile piece about the architect of Masjid Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Dato Dr.HjBaharuddin Abu Kassim. From a monograph written by Azim A Aziz, ‘50 Years National Mosque: 1965 – 2015’, I already knew that Dato’ Baharuddin hates domes. When we met, I asked him about this. This is what was eventually published: “Eeee,” he shudders. “I benci (hate) domes.” Determined to avoid the use of onion-shaped domes and the Mughal designs made famous during the Colonial era, Baharudd...

What did you love most in your favourite biography or memoir? For me, the answer can be found in one of my favourite autobiographies, Khushwant Singh’s story, ‘Truth, Love and a Little Malice’. In the inside cover of this book, it is stated that he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1974 by the President of India. He returned this award in 1984 to protest against the Union Government’s siege of the Golden Temple, Amritsar. I knew immediately that I wanted very much to read his story. What manner of courage did this man have to return a national award? What was his background and who provided him with such a sense of identity and pride that he was willing to do this? An Accessible World The world already knew these men as great people. What made both the stories more accessible was that, through their words, I got to see their humanity, insecurities, joys, and sadness. Also, they narrated major historical events and their interaction with people from all over the world in an interest...

Whatever the length of your story, it must carry the reader through from start to end. You still need to map out your story from start to finish to have an idea of how it’ll all pan out. The story must flow in logical order. To ensure this, you have to look into three aspects: theme, structure, and plot. A theme is the essence and backbone of your story. Roughly speaking, the structure divides your story into the ‘beginning’, ‘middle’ and ‘end’. A plot comprises the elements of a story that go into making it better. Before you start writing your story, you must know what each of these means and how to use them. It will help you answer an important question. Can you answer the question?  Each time I’ve had a new book published, one of the first questions people have asked me is, “What is your book about?” If I cannot tell you what my book is about, how can I expect anyone else to know what it’s about?’ As Laura Backes says, “I think with any story the key is to find the univ...

When Sara decided that her memoir would focus on what happened at work from October 2016 to May 2016, what she had is called a ‘set-up’. It is the germ of an idea for the story. Could she expand it into an entire story? Creating a synopsis will help keep you on track for any story that you plan to write. A word of caution, though. You must remember that you’re creating a synopsis at this stage and not a simple blurb. When is it too simple?  A few weeks ago, I received a message via Whatsapp from a writer. In less than 50 words, he told me that it was an inter-galactic tale and it had an ‘exciting ending’. The manuscript was 120,000 words-long and he wanted me to edit it. He was considering writing the story as a trilogy. Although I could guess what was happening, I asked him to send me the synopsis for his manuscript. What I received in my inbox the next day was the same message he’d sent by Whatsapp with the addition of one character and the description of the home planet. ...

“What if I spend all this time writing my story and no one wants to buy it? Or even read it? Then what?” Sara lamented. Sara had a point. After all, there are thousands of books being published each year. What would make her story so interesting that everyone else will want to read it? When faced with such a dilemma, the elements of writing fiction become very useful even if your focus is non-fiction. The relevant elements are to look for ideas for your story and put a spin on old ideas. Finding Strong Ideas To do this, you must become a keen observer and listen to what people say and how they say it. Sometimes, a poignant remark is made with a turn of the head or a particular inflection in the voice. Such observations, when added to the text of your story, will make the story resonate with readers that much more. For example, say Sara lost her father recently and couldn’t make it in time home for his funeral. These are some of the things writers will observe to help them unders...

“What if I write the truth?” Sara’s question came after I wanted to know why she struggled to go past the first 1,500 words of her story. Here were some of her fears. “If I write about what really happened, people will know I’m a failure.” “If I write about my ex-boss, will I be sued?” “If I try to share what I’ve learnt, it’ll be old news. No one wants that.” I decided to help her by analysing the kind of book she wanted to write. In particular, she wanted to understand the difference between fiction, non-fiction, a memoir and an autobiography. I want to tell a story  We started with fiction. Like Sara, many people think these are story books or novels. That is, generally, true. Novels can be broken down into two broad types: a) A plot-based novel where the events often appear in a sensible order and the emphasis is on the pace of the story, the twists and the plot. b) A character-based novel where characters behaviour is analysed and the emphasis is on creating det...

“I want to become a writer,” Sara declared about one-and-a-half years ago. This 49-year-old single mother was retrenched from her workplace of 25 years. Having been in the financial industry, she was in charge of the publication side of the organisation. Sara wanted to chronicle her experiences. “Very good,”I replied. I was about to offer some advice about what to do next when she said, “I will do this on my own and start in January.” I wished her well, but remained curious about what would happen next. I’ve met people who utter such words and that’s it. They have no clue what to do next. Some find they have time. Some don’t know where to start. Some are sure that absolutely everyone is going to read their story. As I expected, by the end of the month, Sara was close to tears because she realised how large a task it was to write a book. To help Sara, we started all over again. This time, I told her that she needed to keep in mind three things before writing the first word: the ...

Introduction  “When are you going to write my book?” The flippant way Sara spoke made me wonder if she was joking and I laughed in reply. But she was persistent and several days later, I received an email from her. This time, she wrote, ‘You know, I’ve done some crazy things in my life.’ It piqued my interest and I agreed to meet her to discuss all the work she would need to do. Also, by then, she’d changed her mind and decided that she would write the story herself. After a few false starts, I decided to guide Sara through the entire process of working on her story. I took notes as we went through the entire process. When it was over, I compiled all my notes and wrote a series of articles about all I had shared with her and what she had learnt. These are the articles which I will now share with you. There are ten articles altogether. Published on a weekly basis, they will, effectively, tell of Sara’s journey to completing her story. We start with vital preparation that all w...

Following on my post below "Ready Aim Fire", I would like to discuss the above categories of approaches towards acting on one's project.        Sam (below) has now started researching ideas for his cooking school project. Yaye! He is really excited and looks forward to the launch of his cooking school.        Fast forward another 10 years. Sam is still planning his cooking school project! Sam has so unfortunately fallen into the category of people who think that they are taking the Ready Aim Fire approach but instead are really taking the Ready Aim Ready Aim approach. Let's discuss the differences.          Ready Aim Fire: this means that you are quick to seize on the opportunities that come your way. But you don't just seize them blindly.        Once you see an opportunity, you get ready by doing market...

Hi guys         How's everybody? Hope you guys are busying pursuing your dreams :)        Anyway, following up on the thread below "The Key To Success", I would just like to add that I fully agree with Sheau Ching in that Action Speaks Louder than words.         Let's take Sam (fictitious and for purpose of this example) for example. Sam has been talking about his Project A (he dreams of starting a cooking school as he is passionate about cooking) for 10 years. He doesn't take action to pursue his Project A.        Instead, he just talks about it and whines that he can't pursue it because he has no money. Can Sam succeed? Of course not! Not even on his passion when passion is just mixed with a dream. He needs to take action and start work on his Project A. He needs to start taking steps no matter how small to work towards fulfilling this dream ...

Me again :)  I have been reading a lot of self-help books. I never used to do it as I was always of the belief that I was too good/strong-minded to require self-help. I thought it was a sign of weakness.  However, after having read so many self-help books in 2011 and counting, my opinion has changed drastically.  I now realise that self-help books can help me vastly improve myself as a human being. For example, I have learnt many valuable tips on productivity, which has greatly improved my workflow allowing me to have a better work-life balance. If you wish to check out some self-help books, you may consider the popular resource of free ebooks at Project Gutenberg .   I also realise that I was just too stubborn to explore new ideas and thoughts in the past, which is a shame as I may have missed out on a lot of "could have been brilliant" experiences. These days, I keep an open mind on new ideas and thoughts and am eager to experiment with them. Of course, one of ...

Hiya all I am now back in Beijing in the cold. I was struggling to set up my internet and connect to blogger but phew just managed to do it a minute ago.  Anyway, as you may be aware, I am busy trying to set up an online business.  I am making up things and structures for the business as I go along. Sometimes, I don't really know where I am headed and I get quite dejected. Once, I have cried in frustration.  But I never give up. I have never given up in life, mostly anyway.  This is because I believe that I will become the person I think I will be. Since I think that I will become successful, I am working hard towards that.  Action + Belief = Success  I will hold on to this conviction till I succeed.  If you are dreaming of setting up a home-based business, stop dreaming. Take action now and act on your dream. And believe in yourself. This will lead you to the path of success.  If you have already taken action and you are in the process o...

Wah! I really really really hate it when people say to me "You do it la, you are so free!" They don't understand that working at home is REAL WORK. They think I am shaking legs at my desk when the reality is that I work very hard you know. Just because I work from home in my pajamas doesn't make me FREE!!! Do you work from home too? Do you get this kind of treatment too:  (1) your friends and relatives don't think you do real work because you work from home;  (2) your other half thinks you should do all the house admin because you are home all the time;  (3) you don't have free time for yourself because you have too many things to do;  (4) you keep getting distracted by friends who want to ask you out for afternoon tea in the middle of the day; and   (5) you find yourself working a lot because the computer is always nearby.  Siaaaaaaan right.  BUT I really enjoy working from home! So I don't really care what other...

     The class we had today was pretty fun. The moment one student realized that she had to peel the onion skin and clean the fish, she looked startled.      Apparently, she had never cleaned a fish before and not planning to do so. She never cooked a meal but because she's getting married in a few months time, she felt like it's time to learn some kitchen skills.       Realizing that look on her face, I quickly reassured her we'll be able to do it in a breeze. With a little frown on her face, she made her way towards the kitchen table.       The other student had a new resolution to fulfill - preparing home-cooked meals, at least once a day - because she finally realized that eating out is such a costly and unhealthy. So now she plans to have healthy, frugal cooking and living. I hope she will.       We cooked 3 dishes - ikan asam pedas, ayam masak merah, Chinese mus...

The price of food has increased drastically over the past few years. The recent hike in petrol price has mad me revise our family routine and budget on eating out. Should we frequent restaurants and cafes on weekends like we normally do? We dine out for the kind of food that we rarely cook at home - Western, Japanese, fast food, French etc. These food seem more appetizing when served in a fancy restaurants with colourful accompaniments . However, after a month of weekend dinners and and putting that extra effort on preparing homemade fancy and Western dishes, I noticed a striking difference in our monthly budget. I saved a few hundreds. One dish that I find works perfectly well with my kids who are ever willing to eat anything chicken everyday is crispy chicken chop. This can be much healthier than fast food or restaurant fried chicken when using organic chicken (I can afford to use healthy ingredients now because I have already cut down on my monthly cost for dining out!). Le...

I used to fail in making bread of any kind. The dozens of recipes I've tried yielded no results and at one point, I lost interest altogether. Seeing my mom kneading the dough and sweating all over only confirmed that bread making was a tedious and laborious effort. Besides, why fret when bakeries can be found almost anywhere, meaning buns or artisan breads were only a drive away. So I gave up bread-making and stick to store-bought bread. The mixer I had was only meant for cakes and cookies. And the dough hook sat in my kitchen drawer, spotless and untouched. Something hit me one day. The smell of that wonderful aroma of bread permeated my entire kitchen, not once..but often. My neighour was baking bread...and I, being her sweet and loving neighbour surely got my share. Buns of different shapes and fillings, soft white sandwich loaves, and my favourite, the 'paung bakar', the local buns, baked traditionally using woodfire and coconut fibre. Her secret: she went for classe...